'This is not the time to go it alone,' Rutte warns, as he says 'no alternative to Nato'
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte is speaking again, giving a lecture at the Warsaw School of Economics in which he strongly backs the role of the alliance and tells both Europe and the US that in the face of growing geopolitical challenges “this is not the time to go it alone.”
Here are the key passages so far:
I know there are questions about the strength of the transatlantic bond and the United States ‘ commitment to European security. There is tough rhetoric. There are difficult debates between Europe and America over trade and tariffs, and there are calls to revive ideas of European autonomy.
Let me be absolutely clear: this is not the time to go it alone, not for Europe or North America.
The global security challenges are too great for any of us to face on our own.
When it comes to keeping Europe and North America safe, there is no alternative to Nato. Without the US, UK, Turkey, Canada, Norway and Iceland, it is impossible to imagine the defence of Europe, and nothing can replace America’s nuclear umbrella, the ultimate guarantor of our security.
Rutte also added that he was “absolutely confident that United States remains committed to Nato and to Article Five,” adding:
“Don’t just take my word for it.
Listen to President Trump, who has repeatedly stated his commitment to a strong Nato.
Listen to the strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, and listen to the American people, three quarters of whom support Nato, according to a recent poll.”
Missing US soldiers 'killed in an incident' in Lithuania, Nato's Rutte confirms
On earlier reports about four US troops and a vehicle missing in Lithuania (15:18), Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte told reporters that they were confirmed as dead.
Starting his news briefing after delivering a speech at the Warsaw School of Economics, he said:
Whilst I was speaking, the news came out about four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania.
That’s still early news, so we do not know the details, but obviously this is really terrible news, and our thoughts are with families and loved ones.
I sent a message to the American secretary of defence Pete Hegseth that, of course, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and with the United States.
Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT said the four servicemen “may have been killed,” but “this has not been officially confirmed,” while other Lithuanian outlets – TV3 and Lrytas – unofficially reported their deaths.
Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda was quoted by TV3 as saying that he was being kept up to date, but refusing to elaborate as “the circumstances are being clarified”.
LRT also reported that Lithuanian defence minister Dovilė Šakalienė was on the way to the training base.
A statement from the US army’s Europe and Africa public affairs office in Wiesbaden, Germany, said earlier that the soldiers were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time.
“A possible scene has now been identified, and a search and rescue operation is underway,” the Lithuanian military said in a statement.
In the meantime, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Paris, where he is due to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron this evening ahead of tomorrow’s summit of the “coalition of the willing”.
He will also give a joint TV interview to France 2 and the European Broadcasting Union, which will be conducted by Caroline Roux (France 2), Jeremy Bowen (BBC), Jessy Wellmer (ARD), and Joakim Klementi (Estonian Public Broadcasting).
US offers only credible nuclear deterrence, Rutte says
Rutte also gets asked about the suggestions that France could extend its nuclear deterrent programme to cover other countries.
Rutte says he “highly respects” both French and British nuclear deterrents, but insists that “there is no alternative to the nuclear umbrella the US is providing us.”
“When you look at an amount of nuclear warheads pointed at us from Russia, and increasingly, by the way, from China who will get to 1000 warheads by 2030, the only credible nuclear deterrence and ultimate guarantor of our freedom here is the United States of America. …
There’s no way the French and the Brits can replace this.
And still, it is important that they have that nuclear deterrence, so I’m all for it, but it is not an alternative.”
He also once again seeks to reassure Europeans that the US remains committed to Article 5, pointing to Trump’s comments in meetings with European leaders, and also because:
“The US realises that for their collective defence connected to the Euro-Atlantic Theater, including what they want to achieve in the Indo Pacific, being together as 32 allies … as one group, also projecting Nato/American power in the world, it isunbeatable.”
“We can worry about many things, but let’s stop worrying about it,” he says.
If you don't listen to me, you will get a call from Trump, Rutte tells countries not meeting Nato's fair shair commitments
Discussing the question of security and defence funding, Rutte says that Donald Trump’s inauguration in January radically changed the way the allies look at their budget planning.
He says:
Since then, look what happened.
Belgium has been saying we want to get to 2% by the summer. Spain now is saying they want to get to 2% this summer.
We know that Portugal, Italy, they all have these debates now.
And I tell them that, well, now I am calling you to ask you to deliver the 2% by the summer, so that collectively we can move considerably north of the 2% because we have to spend much, much more than 2% but now I am calling you, but you might get a very, erm, patient man from Washington on the line if you don’t listen to me.
And I would love to listen into those phone calls, but let’s hope they are not necessary.
At this moment, I must say that all these non two percenters are having genuine debates to move to the 2% before summer.
(Who am I to disagree, but since he mentioned it: Spain remains committed to meeting 2% only in… 2029 (11:05), although prime minister Sanchez has suggested he would try to do it sooner than that.)
'Difference between attack on Warsaw and Madrid is ten minutes,' Rutte says, as he says 'we are all on eastern flank' of Nato when it comes to Russian threat
Rutte is now taking questions.
Asked about the US-led peace talks with Russia and Ukraine, he says he is “glad that president Trump broke the deadlock,” and remains “positive” about the negotiations.
“It will be a step by step process. Nato gets regular updates. I know the Europeans are as much as possible involved.
But in the end, of course, these are conducted by the Americans with the Ukrainians and the Russians.
He goes on:
We always have been very clear. We need to bring Ukraine to a durable, a lasting peace. Vladimir Vladimirovich should never try again to attack Ukraine.
He notes the Franco-British initiative to offer security guarantees for Ukraine, which will meet in Paris on Thursday, saying Macron and Starmer are “working hard to bring together European countries to potentially help maintaining peace in Ukraine.”
“The most important thing is that these discussions are now taking place, but obviously you first need a peace deal before you can keep a peace.
You can only keep a peace if there is a peace to keep, and that is exactly the process we are now in.”
Rutte also clearly rejects Putin’s demand to have a say in a broader security landscape in Europe.
“He has absolutely no say in how we organise ourselves within the 32 alliance. Absolutely no say at all.
And I hate this whole idea of having a sort of two tier Nato that you have somehow the eight countries on the eastern flank, different from the other 24 allies …
With the latest missile technology coming out of Russia, the difference between an attack on Warsaw or an attack in Madrid is 10 minutes. So we are all on the eastern flank. Amsterdam is at the eastern flank. London is at the eastern flank. Even Washington is at the eastern flank. …
It is important to realise this and Putin has to know that [if] he would try to get a square kilometre of Estonia or of Poland, or of Slovakia, or for of Spain or Portugal, for that matter, that our reaction will be devastating and that the full onslaught of Nato will be upon him.”
'Europe needs to know Uncle Sam has our back,' but we need to do our fair share, Nato's Rutte says
Attempting to explain some of Trump’s frustration with burden sharing, Nato’s Rutte wants to send a clear signal to European countries to step up their defence and spending responsibilities within the alliance, as he says:
Yes, Europe needs to know that Uncle Sam still has our back.
But America also needs to know that its Nato allies will step up.
Without restrictions and without capability gaps. It’s only fair.
Reassurance is a two-way street.
The US commitment to Nato comes with a clear expectation that European allies and Canada take more responsibility for our shared security.
He adds that the alliance will look at this issue again during the upcoming summit in the Hague in June.
He says:
A fair Nato means all allies doing their fair share, and a more lethal Nato means that where we will always remain a defensive alliance, we will always be ready and able to do whatever it takes to stay safe.
He then also notes a “sea change” in spending over the last year alone, as he acknowledges Poland’s position at the top Nato spender at 4.7% GDP, but also gives credit to other countries that have committed “to considerably ramp up spending.”
“This acceleration is absolutely necessary, and we have to keep our foot on the gas [pedal,]” he says.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte arrives in Warsaw to meet with Polish prime minister Donald Tusk at Prime Minister Chancellery in Warsaw. Photograph: Kacper Pempel/Reuters
'This is not the time to go it alone,' Rutte warns, as he says 'no alternative to Nato'
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte is speaking again, giving a lecture at the Warsaw School of Economics in which he strongly backs the role of the alliance and tells both Europe and the US that in the face of growing geopolitical challenges “this is not the time to go it alone.”
Here are the key passages so far:
I know there are questions about the strength of the transatlantic bond and the United States ‘ commitment to European security. There is tough rhetoric. There are difficult debates between Europe and America over trade and tariffs, and there are calls to revive ideas of European autonomy.
Let me be absolutely clear: this is not the time to go it alone, not for Europe or North America.
The global security challenges are too great for any of us to face on our own.
When it comes to keeping Europe and North America safe, there is no alternative to Nato. Without the US, UK, Turkey, Canada, Norway and Iceland, it is impossible to imagine the defence of Europe, and nothing can replace America’s nuclear umbrella, the ultimate guarantor of our security.
Rutte also added that he was “absolutely confident that United States remains committed to Nato and to Article Five,” adding:
“Don’t just take my word for it.
Listen to President Trump, who has repeatedly stated his commitment to a strong Nato.
Listen to the strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, and listen to the American people, three quarters of whom support Nato, according to a recent poll.”
Poland moves closer to suspending right to claim asylum for irregular migrants coming from Belarus
A Polish soldier looks through binoculars as they patrol border while Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk inspects the border fence and infrastructure built to curb irregular immigration at the Belarusian border in Ozierany Male, eastern Poland. Photograph: Wojtek Radwański/AFP/Getty Images
Poland moves closer to implementing the controversial plans to temporarily suspend the right to claim asylum for irregular migrants coming from Belarus after the country’s president, Andrzej Duda, signed the law reforming the existing rules.
The move came after repeated requests from prime minister Donald Tusk, who said earlier this week that an implementing act was waiting for the law to enter into force.
The government is planning an information campaign in foreign languages to target migrants in their countries of origin and discourage them from attempting to cross the border, he said.
Any suspension of the right to claim asylum would need to be territorially limited and time restricted to 60 days but could be then further extended by a vote in parliament.
Polish broadcaster TVN24 noted that the law includes an exemption for unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, and particularly vulnerable people, who will still be able to seek to claim asylum.
Last week, Tusk explained the reform was needed to counter “the pressure on our border with Belarus … which is growing” as he accused Alexander Lukashenko and Russia’s Vladimir Putin of encouraging irregular migration to put pressure on the EU’s external borders.
According to the Polish government, people trying to cross the border in 2024 came from 51 countries, with the greatest numbers coming from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Syria.
'Unconditional withdrawal' of Russian troops one of main preconditions for lifting sanctions, EU says
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
The European Commission responded to reports of Russia seeking sanctions relief as part of a maritime ceasefire in Ukraine, saying today that one of its main precondition would be to see “the unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces” from Ukraine.
In a stark response to Russian demands, EU spokesperson said in a statement, reported by Reuters:
The end of the Russian unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine and unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine would be one of the main preconditions to amend or lift sanctions.
The spokesperson added that “Russia must now demonstrate genuine political will to end its illegal and unprovoked war of aggression.”
She also pointedly noted that “experience has shown that Russia must be judged by its actions, not by its words.”
Austria to pause family reunification for those with asylum status
Austria said it would pause family reunifications for those with asylum status from May, becoming the first in the European Union to do so.
Interior minister Gerhard Karner said in a government press release the move was necessary to counter the impact on “schools, health system and even security” in the country.
It said that in 2023 and 2024, over 17,000 came to Austria through the scheme, mostly underage school-age children from Syria.
After new security measures were implemented, including DNA testing and document verification, the number of successful applications has dropped to just 60 in February 2025, down from a thousand a year earlier.
“By May, so in just a few weeks, the stop is expected to become reality,” integration minister Claudia Plakolm told reporters, adding the country’s “systems have reached their limits”.
Austria’s Minister Claudia Plakolm addresses a press conference in Vienna, Austria last week. Photograph: Leonhard Föger/Reuters
EU could step in to support Radio Free Europe after US funding cuts, von der Leyen says
The logo on the facade of the headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL) in Prague, Czech Republic. Photograph: Michal Čížek/AFP/Getty Images
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hinted that the EU could step in to support Radio Free Europeafter recent US funding cuts by the Trump administration.
Responding to a push from a coalition of countries, led by the Czech Republic, von der Leyen said:
Radio Free Europe provides independent reporting to many countries where media freedom is threatened. We‘ll work with partners including [flags of the Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Lithuanian, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Slovenia] to support @RFERL‘s award winning journalism. The world needs media freedom.
EU steps up its preparedness planning in case of crises, threats
Floods in northern Italy forced over a thousand evacuations in September last year. Photograph: Alessandro Serranò/REX/Shutterstock
The European Union has announced its EU Preparedness Union Strategy, outlining plans to prevent and respond to new crises and threats, such as floods, wildfires, or conflicts. The strategy includes stark advice to keep essential supplies to get through 72 hours of an emergency.
EU social rights and preparedness commissioner Roxana Mînzatu said the bloc wanted to “talk to our citizens, of all generations” to make sure they are “equipped, skilled, prepared” to react to power cuts, natural disasters, and other potential issues.
The underlying report said that the EU crisis management is “mostly reactive, rather than pro-active,” with insufficient tools for spotting risks early, and fragmented response mechanisms.
The strategy proposes 30 actions, including developing “minimum preparedness criteria” for essential services, enhancing the stockpiling of critical equipment and materials, and encouraging the public to adopt practical measures, such as “maintaining essential supplies for a minimum of 72 hours in emergencies.”
The full document is here if you want to read more.
